Monday Three
; "a lonely bench")
There are three items that I want to remember about today.
First, we took my Dad out to a nice dinner for his birthday and helped him start his DVD collection. There was a beautiful chocolate cake involved that was too pretty to eat. Due to President's Day, he had the much-deserved day off.
Second, I had planned to go on about Sunday at my parents' place, but will simply summarize it with three bullet points:- watched Meredith Willson's The Music Man
- watched a rebroadcast of San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade
- attempted to complete The Art of Happiness
Third, I am rather disappointed that I can fall so easily into mope mode while reading a book about the art of happiness. To describe it in one inadequate sentence, I've been contemplating how the book's concepts and teachings are relevant or applicable to my own life.
This afternoon, I spent time alone in two places to read and write, removed from certain elements and typical demands. One was on the photographed bench overlooking the Coyote Parkway Lakes, only a few miles from my house. The other was at a plaza outside a bookstore in south San Jose. The latter brought me greater comfort. I was enveloped by the sounds of the plaza fountain, the murmur of conversations and the shifting tempo of passing footsteps, but still, completely alone. It sounds strange, but I sometimes think that the only way to break free from this loneliness is to completely embrace it.
